THE COUNTRY 333, 



ing from out the bounds of its control, Englishmen and things 

 English. One can understand a policy that poured forth 

 blood and treasure like water, to save South Africa for the 

 Empire, but in the days coming who will be able to explain 

 or defend to intelligent Englishmen that policy of shilly- 

 shally that first let the Boers have their own way till war was 

 inevitable, then called all her sons around her, and with their 

 aid, beat her enemy to the dust; and then, before the hurts of 

 battle were healed, handed back the land for which she and 

 they had paid so new and heavy a price, to those very uncon- 

 verted forces of ignorance, prejudice and race hatred, from 

 which, all blood drenched, she had delivered it. Great 

 surely is the policy of "muddling through"! and that is the 

 one persistent policy pursued in the poor little Protectorate. 



The Governor sits in council at regular seasons. The 

 council's supposed value lies in its supposed capacity to 

 represent the needs and wishes of the Protectorate. It 

 suggests local laws and regulations, which are, [after dis- 

 cussion, for warded to Downing Street. If approved 

 there, they are printed in the Protectorate Gazette and 

 become operative. 



There are six provincial commissioners ruling the six dis- 

 tricts into which British East Africa is divided. These men 

 know the country or are at least supposed to know it better 

 than all others, for they are sent to govern it by aid of dis- 

 trict commissioners who are under their orders. Not one of 

 these six has a seat on the council. Nor on the council can 

 any official retain office who votes contrary to the executive. 

 So the council is neither legislative nor eonciliar. It does not 

 fairly represent anything, even officialdom. It is a sort of 

 restricted debating society, denied even the privilege of 

 recording by vote its convictions. It satisfies no one in 

 the country and does not seemingly exercise much influence 

 outside it. 



It has no settled policy of administration. It is not so 



